Fighting Through
by Childhood Creations
Summary: On Hiatus. Daryl is looking for Sophia with Andrea when they run across a woman named 'Grendel's Mom' who can be of help to the group, and be a bit more than Daryl bargained for.
1. Daryl

**Fighting Through**

**Edited October 3rd 2012**

Rating:** T**

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Summary: Daryl is looking for Sophia with Andrea when they run across a woman named 'Grendel's Mom' who can be of help to the group, and be a bit more than Daryl bargained for.

Author's Note: This is just a short (VERY short) introductory chapter to the story 'Fighting Through', most updates will never be _this_ short. But, I had a meeting today and so it really cut into my Daryl writing time. Hope you all enjoy and please review! Thank you so much!

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><p>Daryl was beyond what he deemed safe enough to travel from the others, he didn't mind it at all. He knew his way back and could handle himself. Andrea dragging behind him, on the other hand, was what made him insecure about the distance.<p>

The silence didn't surprise him any, what had was the sudden scream of a small girl. He instantly went on alert and took off in the direction it came from, "Sophia!" he shouted as Andera pushed forward from behind him, chanting Sophia's name with him. After what took too long, a clearing came into view and he saw a small child running with another and gazed in awe. It hadn't been a scream in terror like he and Andrea had thought it had been, the boy had pushed down the girl and taken her toy and she screamed as a result. He mulled over the fact there were two young, unarmed children _playing_ in the wilderness. It was... impossible.

"You there!" someone growled, causing him and Andrea to flinch. Daryl turned on his heels, taking aim before checking to see who had called to him and Andrea. There was a double barrel pointed in his face and he adjusted his crossbow, Andrea was standing dumbfounded and confused as she always did around him. "State your business." the voice demanded, obviously feminine though her face was hidden from him by the gun and his own crossbow.

"Uh..." he started, not about to lower his crossbow. Andrea burst in, "We are looking for someone. A girl. Six, seven years old. Her name is Sophia. A walker came after her the other day and she got separated from the group." the woman lowered her double barrel and sighed at them, he noticed instantly she had a vibrant blue eye and a decorative eyepatch covering her other.

"Well, can't say we've had many lil' girls comin' in like that 'ere." she said, "You are welcome to come and see if she's that youngin' who forgot her name. She's been 'ere a few days though." she nodded her head toward the North and began to walk away from the two. He took a moment, looking from Andrea, the woman and then followed. "Jill, Max." she called behind her, "Best be gettin' your hides back into the base before you get hurt, ya' hear? Don't want them dead followin' you into town!" she shouted, two child-like 'Okay's called in unison as they ran past her and into a heavily wooded forest. "Be careful, you kids!" she watched them closely, leading the newcomers into the very same woods the kids had ran into.

"Leave your weapons here. All of 'em." she commanded, dropping her gun and pulling out three different concealed guns and placed them into a bin he'd not notice earlier, she followed up by a few other various weapons. "You're allowed a knife, both of ya'." he didn't follow her orders, "Now." she growled to them, unaware Andrea was basically useless and only carried a bowie knife. Daryl on the other hand had his crossbow,

"Why, pirate?" Andrea asked her, seeming a bit stand-offish.

"It's a safe zone, hunny. No weapons. No exceptions." she narrowed her eyes at her. "Ya'll free to go out and wander around the night and gettin' ya'll selves eaten, though." she flashed a smile that showed off a set of bleach white teeth that had been well taken care of through the woman's years.

"Only a knife?" he asked, she nodded and he did as told, not wanting to cause more tension between the women. He'd learned his lesson as a boy, you don't really mess with women unless you have a death wish or be between two angry women. "Don't worry about Ands, she's just got a dull knife in her pack."

"Roll it up." she called and the bin went up in the air before she finished. "Thanks, Bob." she said to an unseen man high up in a hidden watchtower.

"No problem, mama." he called and she walked forward, deeper into the woods. He had his guard up, he'd just gave up his weapons at the slim chance that this woman _may_ have Sophia. She could have possibly have just been lying and this was a trap. He hoped for the best though.

He heard a click of her equestrian riding boots on tile that seemed to have come from nowhere. It was then that he looked over the woman for the first time. She was about 5' 4" and had her dark wavy red hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was in a white cotton shirt that had at one point been probably an expensive piece of material to have and wore black equestrian pants. She made it obvious that she was a rider and she knew what she was doing just by the way she held herself.

"Before we go further, just know that everyone here is just a _traveler_, nobody stays for long and they are all scared. If the girl is her, than ya'll must wait for her to recover before you can leave with her." she whispered and continued forward. "Don't want people stealin' people." she grumbled.

"So, why do you wear a patch? Old friends?" Andrea asked with a snide smile, hoping she'd irritated 'mama'.

"No, it's mine. I try to not wear the prosthetic." she flipped up the patch to show she was indeed missing an eye. She'd a beautiful face, even with the missing eye. Daryl silently wondered what happened to have her eye no longer be a part of her, then again, maybe he didn't want to know.

"Oh." Andrea mouthed, not expecting that the woman to actually be missing an eye.

"I'm Grendel's Mom. Call me by such. Yourselves?" she said with a smile.

"Grendel's mom?" Andrea huffed, laughing at the woman. "I'm Andrea. This is Da-" the woman held up a hand.

"Hold up, hunny. We don't use our names that we had before this shitstorm, they are just connections to the past that most these people would rather forget 'ere. But, yes. Grendel's mom. A play off of Beowulf's monster. Got a pup named Grendel. Since this all happened, I've been 'Grendel's mom'." Daryl laughed and pretended to know what she meant, though he'd no clue what it was.

The reinforced door opened up and they were ushered in by Grendel's Mom.

"Come on Andrea, Dixie." she called. Daryl raised a brow at the new moniker he'd been given.

"Dixie, ain't that a girls name?" he said to himself, following the women into the base.

There was a moment of silence between them all when they entered in. It looked like a small town, cars were parked, but none in use. Buildings stood erect and in decent condition, people were acting like they had _before _all Hell broke loose on the world. Kids were playing, a small group of women taking a stroll together and a few men tinkering on a car that had no chance of running again.

"It's taken a lot of hard work, but my pa got this place up 'n' runnin'. He didn't wanna see mama's grave get run over by undead." she smiled, hints of sadness twined into her tone. A large Catahoula Leopard hound pranced toward them, he had a brown eye and a glass blue eye, his coat reminded Daryl of a jackal and the hound seemed over-joyed to see Grendel's Mom.

"Hey, baby!" she cooed, her arms stretched out and letting the beast jump up onto her, knocking her back. "Grendel!" she laughed, amused and happy to have her 'baby' with her.

"This is Grendel. Need to find anything, just tell him." she said as she attempted to stand up again. "Now, let's go see this mystery girl, shall we?" she gave them both a smile, Grendel trotting off in front of them toward where 'Dixie' assumed the girl was recovering.

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><p>Thank you for reading!<br>Catahoula, for those that don't know are common for their eccentric coating as well as the glass and brown eye.  
>You'll commonly find me writing about this breed, sorry if you don't like them.<p> 


	2. A Slight Return to Normal

**Fighting Through**

**Edited October 3rd 2012**

Rating:** T**

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Summary: Daryl is looking for Sophia with Andrea when they run across a woman named 'Grendel's Mom' who can be of help to the group, and be a bit more than Daryl bargained for.

Author's Note:I don't own Walking Dead. I should probably have mentioned that before... Eh. Enjoy.

Chapter Two: A Slight Return to Normal

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><p>Daryl was walking slowly behind the two women, looking over each and every bit of the landscape. It was as if the town hadn't been touched by this <em>nightmare.<em> He looked at each bit, taking it all in, he could get use to it. Working five to nine, coming home to his family and going hunting walkers with his hound dog on the weekends. It sounded like a life that he wanted to live.

"Here we are." Grendel's Mom said quietly, there was a hovering cloud of worry over the three as they stood before a wooden door with a slightly faded red cross _expertly_ painted on. "Be mindful, the girl's a lil' shake'n up, but she's goin' to make a good recovery." she opened up the door and walked in, the two walked in behind her, looking all over to try and spot Sophia somewhere, Grendel pushed past them and pranced around the make-shift hospital.

It was dimly lit, but it seemed to still be bright thanks to the light floral walls and homely furniture décor placed all around the 'hospital', the lamp light was perfect for any means other than critical medical procedures.

"This way." she said, waving them to the right of the room. "Here." there was a screen hiding who was behind it on the bed, privacy reasons Daryl assumed. He could tell Andrea was holding her breath, as was he. They peeked over the screen, seeing blond hair bobbed short like Sophia's, she looked like Sophia, but it was not. He let out a long, depressed sigh. "I take that she is not her?" Grendel's Mom said, giving a pitiful gaze to the two. Daryl shook his head, Andrea didn't bother to do anything, she just turned and walked out of the 'hospital'. "I am sorry, hun." she huffed a little, pulling a stray hair out of the small, orphaned girls face and tucked it behind her ear.

"Her family'll find her. Just like all of us with Sophia, this girl will find her family." Daryl put a comforting hand on Mom's shoulder, not sure what to do to help her any.

"Yeah. I know. It's just difficult knowin' I'm takin' care of her till she has to go on home. I've grown attached, ya' see. Got my brother's girl at home." she gave a gruff laugh and stood up.

Daryl had his eyes on Mom and she'd been staring right back at him with her eye, he gave her a half crooked smile mixed with an apologetic look.

"Sorry." Daryl nodded a little to her, but didn't move otherwise. He just wanted to keep watching the girl, hoping she'd turn into Sophia.

"It's al'ight. I suggest you and your wife stay here toni-" Daryl busted out laughing, _wife? Wife? _"Sorry, did I miss something?" Grendel's Mom had her head tilted, Grendel laid out on the hardwood just behind them had shot his head up at Daryl's sudden burst of laughter.

"You missed a **whole** lot, miss. Andrea and I... we don't get along to well." he whispered, "Much less be _married_. Hell, I'd rather have not even gone on this search for Sophia with the woman." he was still chuckling by what Mom had said.

"Oops. I just assumed, sorry there. That's quite embarrassin'." she giggled lightly, her eyes lit up when she laughed, it must have been awhile since she'd been done that.

"No problem." Daryl noted, nodding to her and giving her a wide smile.

"Well, you and _Andrea _should stay the night tonight. It's getting rather late and I'd not like have'n anyone's death on my hands 'cause I kicked them from the refuge." she slapped her thigh once lightly and Grendel popped up, trotting toward his mama's side and standing faithfully beside her. He rolled his head on her thigh a few times, demanding attention that she quickly rewarded him with before leading him out.

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><p>"What do you mean I can't leave?" they heard Andrea scream, a small child arguing with her about 'policy' and 'lockdown time'. Grendel's Mom ran to the two, stepping between them, obviously more afraid for the life of Andrea than the childs.<p>

"What is the problem 'ere, kids?" Mom asked, looking between the two.

"Tell this _bitch, _here that we _have _rules here, we're not damned _savages_ and the rules are clear; 8:30 is lockdown until 6am!" the kid shouted, Andrea glaring down the small girl.

"What the fuck is this place suppose to be? A jail?" Andrea growled, Mom turned sharply to her and began to glare the blond down.

"We have the policy 'ere to _protect_ these people. They come here for _safety_. It's not an 'oh, darn, look that tha' time, it's dark and I need to wander around and get eaten by a walker' town. Dixie and I have already talked, you two are stayin' here tonight. You can leave at 6am on the button. Until then, the gate is locked. That's final. I'm not letting you go out there just to get ambushed or somethin' by them dead out there or worse, ya' hear? Now you, Jillian, go back to your post." Daryl raised a brow at Grendel's Mom as she told Andrea how they worked, even if she opposed the rules.

"This is bullshit!" Andrea called loudly as Jillian stomped off, displeased with going back to her post, but also victoriously for she'd won the argument. Jillian gave a snarl at Andrea and began to climb up a ladder engraved into the gate wall, Daryl then noticed that Jillian wasn't a child at all. She was just a 'little-person'. He stayed quiet, women were mad again and he didn't want his face blown off.

"No, your attitude is bullshit, and if you don't can it, I'll can you, hunny." Mom growled to Andrea who shut up instantly as Grendel began to growl at her. He figured Andrea didn't want to test her immortality against the hound and his master.

"What about our group, huh?" Andrea asked, "What if they think something happened to us?" Mom gave her an annoyed sigh and looked at Daryl for some help at taming his wild team mate.

"We've got walkies, I've got mine with me. They may be too far out, but we can try. Tell'em were at a refuge for the night so we don't become walker snacks." Daryl said, seeming to calm Andrea a small bit, she just glared at them all.

"That is a _wonderful _idea." Mom gave him a joyous smile, Grendel now calmed as well and nuzzling up against Mom.

"Rick, 'ey, Rick. It's Daryl and Andrea. If you can hear this, Andrea and I are safe. We ran into a refuge camp, thought Sophia might be here, turned out she's not but it's late now. Don't want anyone else goin' missin' so we're stickin' here tonight." Daryl commed out and looked at them both, not sure if anyone had heard them, but he left the full message anyway. He'd keep trying for the rest the night if there was any static that signaled they were in range. Damned not knowing how far the reach was for the walkies.  
>"If you want, you can give the walkie to Bob, he'll radio to them all night until there is an answer, try and strengthen the signal until he can reach them?" Mom suggest, Daryl nodded and handed her the walkie and she changed the channel instantly to another. "'Ey, Bobbie, got a walkie from our guests, get on down here and get it so you can radio in to their friends that they're safe. Al'ight?" she commed out and instantly got a 'Comin' down' as a reply.<p>

"Well, were are we going to sleep for the night?" Andrea asked, noticing that despite all the houses, people were settled in tents. "We don't have any gear. Why doesn't everyone stay in the houses?" she asked, raising a brow.

"The houses just _look _nice. Most of them are shit on the inside. We don't have the man power or the resources to fix 'em up on the inside. Pa and I just painted the outsides, made 'em look nice. Only the good conditioned ones have people in 'em or are in use." she spat, "Bob and I have been slowly working on them all, eventually they'll all be livable. But, they're all barred from the inside if they're not in use. Don't want people gettin' in and gettin' hurt in there. Bob's the only one other than Jillian who can get in and open 'em." she tagged the last sentence in, knowing Andrea would probably interrogate her about that too had she not put that in. A short, gruff looking man hobbled up, he was using a crutch to walk forward.

"Where's this walkie?" he grouched, holding out one of his tiny hands, Mom handing him the walkie with the right signal now on it. "Ah, a piece of shit. I'll get 'em, maybe China too if I really feel like it." Bob laughed, he was also a 'little-person', "Oh, and sweet cheeks, you be rude to my lil' girl again and I'll rip your heart out." he pointed at her, using the walkie-talkie antenna as an extension of his hand.

"Oh, Bob, be kind. She just didn't know." Mom kissed Bob on the top of his head and thanked him for coming down all the way from the tree to pick up the walkie.

"Tell 'em that Daryl and Andrea are safe. Ask for Rick, Shane, or Dale. Don't mention anything about Sophia, just in case Carol's around." Daryl said, giving thanks to Bob and Andrea remaining far away from them, distant and giving the stink eye to anyone near them.

"Okay, kids. Ya'll be good. See ya' in the daybreak, Mom, Daryl, Andrea." he waved himself off and limped away from the small group, struggling up the ladder Jillian had gone up earlier and then into the trees, hidden from their sights.

"Can he really strengthen the signal?" Andrea asked, still not 'kind', but kind enough to not get any displeasing glares from Grendel's Mom.

"He has worked intelligence gatherin' for most his life, he did that kind of thing in his sleep. If you need a signal, he'll get you one." Mom smiled, "Now, follow me, you two can bunk at my place tonight." she nudged at Grendel and he barked happily, sprinting toward a house farther off into the distance. Daryl began to follow the dog, "Follow _me._" she laughed, "Grendel and Lilith had pups recently. Lilith keeps them away from the humans expect Bob and I mostly. He stays with her most the time when he's not out huntin' with me." she said, leading them in a similar, but different direction.

It was a small house, only one story compared to many of the two and three story buildings that surrounded the tiny one. It had a white picket fence with small shrubs and some flowers lining the pathway to the door. It was surreal to see something quite like this in the nightmare they lived in. Daryl half figured he was just dreaming at the moment, had been all along. No woman is this badass with a great set of breasts to go with it. He had to be.

"Home Sweet Home?" Andrea huffed, looking at the small little metal sign that was staked into the ground by the tulips.

"Is now." she smiled, "It suits my tastes better." she unlocked and opened the door.

"Make yourselves at home!" she said with a winning smile, her arm outstretched to welcome them in.

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><p>Andrea and Grendel's Mom had directed themselves to the kitchen and Daryl positioned himself comfortably on a loveseat that was placed next to the fireplace, the furnishings suggested a French 1960's décor. It was all perfectly placed, each piece had been placed just where it needed to be to contrast each and every other piece in the room, though each piece showed some kind of wear. He didn't care much about how things looked anymore, but he had to confess that it looked nice. Daryl feel calm and much warmer, the fireplace wasn't burning but it made him feel welcomed. The longer he'd spent there, the more he was liking it.<p>

"Comfy?" Grendel's Mom laughed as she walked in from the kitchen, he zoned back to reality and noticed he had his muddy boots kicked up on her foot rest. Daryl tossed himself from the chair and the foot rest and apologized silently, she laughed harder. "Just take off your boots, Dixie." she waved her hand as if nothing had happened and walked off toward the dining area once again. "Hungry?" she asked and he just had to ponder it for a moment to realise he very much was.

"I could go for something." he poked at the words like a child poked at their vegetables during dinner.

"Wat'cha wantin', Dixie?" she asked, he stalked slowly toward the kitchen, peeking in lightly. The kitchen was a woman's domain, a man was risking his life each time he entered.

"Um, squirrel?" he asked as if it was perfectly normal.

"Sorry, fresh out." she gave him a small laugh before opening up her fridge. It was like a store in a box only free. It was beautiful – all the food. He spotted bits of roast.

"Can I have – that?" he pointed lightly at the roast pieces laying on the shelve in the fridge, he seemed like a skittish child that was scared to be told 'no'. She grabbed it instantly, the look on her face asked 'this?' he nodded in reply. "Yeah."

"I asked what you wanted, if you want roast, you're welcome to it." she handed him the bag of fresh sealed roast and walked toward the cabinets, "Plate?" he nodded.

"I'll take anything." Andrea groaned from behind them, slamming her head into her hands that were placed neatly on the counter top.

"Sorry, but I don't offer 'anything', my pa' always sent me away with no supper if I pulled that 'anything' gag on him." Grendel's Mom explained, and Daryl could tell that Andrea had rolled her eyes by the way she huffed inside her arms.

"I'll take something with protein then."

"Fish?"

Andrea shot her head up and looked at Grendel's Mom for a moment, "You have that?" she asked dumbfounded.

"Yeah, we fish now and then. Took me awhile to trust the fish, or any food for that matter." she'd pulled out four plates and laid them all out, putting fish on a skillet, spaghetti in a pot and the roast in the oven.

"My cousin likes spaghetti on Monday." she said, noticing Daryl's face. "Darcy!" she called, there were loud thuds and thumping of feet on the hardwood somewhere in the house.

"Yes, ma'ma?" a quiet voice called, Daryl turned to see a small little girl with long raven black hair, her eyes and complexion told him instantly that she was of Asian decent. She was wearing Hello Kitty pajamas and had her hair pulled in a side pony tail.

"What have I told you about that? I'm your cousin. Not your mother, sweetie." she sighed, Daryl could feel the hurt in her tone, the child was so very small, too small to truly understand life and death yet.

"When will I meet my mother then?" Darcy asked, Grendel's Mom walked to the small child and knelt down to her, giving the child a hug.

"Eventually." she muttered, barely audible to the human ears. Mom released Darcy and continued cooking the food, Daryl listened to the food cooking with a girl on his face. It'd been awhile since he felt _this _good. "Darcy, I need you to clean up for supper, ok?" she said, leaning behind herself and catching glimpse of Darcy as the girl ran off to the bathroom somewhere in the home.

"What happened to her ma'ma?" Daryl asked, not realising it just _might _be inappropriate to ask.

"My uncle lived in the city with auntie and Darcy. The dead got to the cities faster than flies to a horses' ass. What happened is very... uncertain. All we know is auntie give Darcy time to run, but Darcy is just a kid. She got scared and fell, hit her head good. She doesn't remember a thing. The past... it's almost best to forget." a sink turned on in the home's bathroom. "It's not fair to her, but, it almost feels like the best thing for her is to not even remember what the world _had _been like before all of this. I just can't do that to her though. She deserves to remember her mother and father." Mom gave a long sigh and stretched out. "Roast." she said, pulling it out of the oven and forking it onto his plate, "Any condiments?" she asked, Daryl almost thinking she said something else and about choked on his roast.

"Oh, um, no. Thanks, no. Wait- mustard?" he asked, it was a long shot, but he had to ask.

"Sure thing." Mom pulled out a bottle and placed it before him, he'd always had strange eating habits. Honestly, who ate roast with mustard? "Fish needs a minute more." she commented as Darcy walked back in, her hair still pulled in a side ponytail, but it was now on the other side. She was in a new long sleeve shirt, but her pants were the same Hello Kitty pj's she had on before.

"Darcy, change the pants." Darcy looked down, making an 'O' with her mouth and ran off to her room.

"That's so embarrassing!" she screamed, though Daryl didn't understand why. "Better?" she singed as she marched in, her smile going ear to ear as she flashed her knee-length shorts with little panda bears on them.

"Better." Grendel's Mom nodded and sat out the fish and noodles. "Thank you all for joining, pray if you wish." Grendel's Mom was very flat, she had symbols that represented the Catholic faith spread throughout what little of the home Daryl had seen, but she'd made it quite obvious that religion wasn't her strong point or something she liked to talk about.

"Thank you!" Darcy shouted, digging into her vegetables and spaghetti that she'd mixed together on her plate.

"You're quite welcome, hun." Grendel's Mom said with a wide smile, something in Daryl told him that this little girl sitting beside him was the only reason she kept going.

Dinner went well for everyone, even Andrea. Andrea had taken the spare bed in the guest room, Daryl opted for the loveseat he'd been in earlier, even though Mom wasn't happy to have her guest sleeping on a chair when she had an open bed. Took him awhile, but he convinced her he didn't sleep much anyway.  
>She'd given him some clothes to wear so he wouldn't track mud anywhere or stain her loveseat, he was able to go to sleep feeling a bit cleaner. As he stretched out on the loveseat and pulled the large blanket over himself he noticed going to sleep wouldn't be trouble tonight and it wasn't.<p>

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><p>Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! Please review or, you know, do what you like! Teehee. Anywho, have a great day!<p> 


	3. Daryl's Miracle, waking at Six AM

**Fighting Through**

**Edited October 4th 2012**

Rating:** T**

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Summary: Daryl is looking for Sophia with Andrea when they run across a woman named 'Grendel's Mom' who can be of help to the group, and be a bit more than Daryl bargained for.

Author's Note: I don't own Walking Dead. Thank you for reading and you're beautiful!

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><p>As the morning rolled in Daryl still remained deep in sleep, it was the most relaxed he'd felt in a long time... Until a loud screeching beast roared from outside.<br>"Ah, what the fuck!" Daryl shouted as he rolled off the chair, still cursing at the rooster that had rudely waken him. He heard the shower running in the bathroom and then he sniffed himself. Reeling from his stench he cursed at himself for doing something so idiotic. "Damn." he coughed up a little bit. "I need to bathe."

"Down the hall to the left and my room has a bathroom. Go for it, you smell wretched." he heard Grendel's Mom say to him, he looked over to see her leaned against the hallway entrance in a gown that snuggled against her each curve.

"Thanks." he groaned as he rose from the hardwood, looking up at a working clock only to find there wasn't one. "What the fuck was that?" he grumbled to Grendel's Mom.

"Rooster. He's been doin' his thang for years, before the nightmare even. Still does it. Six A.M." she said, patting his back gently.

"Fuckin' six AM? Are you kidding me?" he growled lowly, cursing the rooster more under his breath.

"Hon, Darcy has ears. Stop cursing-" Grendel's Mom had started to warn him until Darcy ran in and shouted, "or you have to put a penny in the swear jar!" then ran back out.

_A fuckin' swear jar? Pennies?_

He snarled a bit and sulked off to the bathroom, he was awake at six AM. Miracles never cease, even in Hell.

_This rooster is an asshole. _

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><p>Despite the fact the shampoo was <em>'Lovely Lilac<em>' he was the happiest man in the world just to be in the shower, the warm strings of water pouring down his person and getting each bit of him, the mud and grime that had built up since his last bath was running off of him and down the drain. He rubbed the soap all around him and sighed loudly, it was perfect.

_Knock, knock._

Daryl was a bit startled, but he relaxed quickly, "Yes?" he called to the knocking.

"Darcy used the last towel, brought you one." Grendel's Mom called through the door as she walked in on him, "Oh!" she gasped, shielding her eyes as she realised he hadn't closed the shower door. "Sorry!" she cried as he closed the door with a laugh.

"It's fine, it's fine. Come on in." he said, leaning slightly to see her around the door. She was peeking in a little to check if it was safe, ran in and then out. He chuckled at her, he heard her say something about how he'd been in there for over an hour and should probably finish, so he did just that.

After twelve more minutes of letting his body really enjoy the water and relax more, he turned off the shower head, and grabbed the towel. Daryl scratched the towel through his hair and pat his chest dry before wrapping it around his waist, proceeding to the master bedroom where his clothes were.

He scoped the room... Absent. His clothes were gone, "What the hell?" he gruffed and walked out of the room, "Hey, where are my clothes?" he asked, Grendel's Mom poked out from the dining area and looked into the hall, seeing Daryl in just a towel made her face pale.

"What are you doing?" she shouted, rushing him and pushing him back into her room. "Darcy doesn't need to see you running around like you're in a porno!" she growled at him, he found it attractively intimidating.

"My clothes are gone!" he pouted, she rolled her eyes at him and pushed him onto her bed.

"_I like where this is going." _Daryl thought to himself with a perverted smile. She noticed this and rolled her eyes again with a heavy sigh.

"Don't flatter yourself. I don't want you dripping on the hardwood." she opened up the closet across from the bed and pulled out clothes. "Here. They were my best-friends." she tossed them at him. "He has a kilt if you'd like to wear that while your boxers wash?" he gave her a dorky half smile and shooed her out of the room and began to change. Daryl looked over the room as he pulled on the clothing, a frame catching his eye. It was Grendel's Mom and a man hugging. They were smiling, the man had a rugged goatee and shaggy blond hair that reminded Daryl of an Irish version of Bob Marley. He was holding Grendel's Mom by her shoulders and her by his shoulders, both looking at the camera and smiling widely. They were shaded by the tree they stood in front of with what looked like a baby Darcy and an Asian woman in the distance playing with a dog that looked like Grendel, and likely was. Daryl dared to touch the frame and see if there was writing on the back of the photo-

"He was like my brother. His name was Graham." he jumped a little at the sudden appearance of Grendel's Mom. "He went missing. Been lookin' for him since the very day." she gave a small smile to Daryl and he couldn't return it, he knew she felt. He was missing Sophia, well, it felt like _he_ was missing her, though it was Carol who was crushed on the inside, not him.

"Scared me a lil' there." he bluffed, her raised eyebrow indicated that she wasn't a fool for it. He stared at her awkwardly for a minute in her best-friend/brother's clothing before he finally found some form of words to end the silence,"When was this?" was all he asked.

"Three days before Darcy, my uncle and aunt left. Three months before the nightmare came to life." she said plainly, her tone wasn't cold, but it was lifeless. "This was his house. His room. If you look around you'll likely find weed. He hit it a lot..." she was serious, but once the silence consumed the room she burst out laughing, tears from such sudden and hard laughter made tears roll down her face. Daryl wasn't sure what to do, go with cliché and laugh with her until she stops and glares at him for laughing, or be silent and let her laugh- that can seem rude though. He decided to be safe and stay quiet. "Finders keepers, unless you're Darcy or Grendel, so... have fun if you find any. That's what his hidden stashes were for anyway; games between his friends to find the 'missin' weed."

"I assume you looked for them?" Daryl asked, curious now and knowing that there was weed all around this house apparently.

"No, never cared for it and then Graham and I hid them pre to 'game day'. I know where they all are." she gave him a sly smile and winked before turning and leaving. "Breakfast is ready, by the way." she called to him. He wasn't about to wait and let the food mold or get cold, so he burst out of the room and headed to the dining room with her. Andrea was already eating what seemed to be a second plate of eggs and bacon with toast.

"Hey, Andrea." Daryl waved at her loosely. She barely nodded to him as she continued to scarf down each morsel of food on her plates, as he noticed her spear a waffle and shove it in her mouth.

"Digestion, child!" Grendel's Mom shouted in worry as she saw just how Andrea was eating. "Jesus!" she slammed her hand on her forehead and shook it. Daryl sat down across from Andrea and next to Darcy. The little girl was eying him devilishly.

"You said a naughty word." she cooed, her eyes narrowed even more than normal and a girl etched on her face, "That's a penny in the penny jar." she got an even wider smile and giggled madly.

"_Fuck's wrong with this kid?"_ Daryl watched her for a long moment wondering why they even bothered with currency and why was this kid so pleased that he'd said a 'naughty' word?

He shot Grendel's Mom a look, begging for help. Ask and you shall receive he noted as he felt her hand slide on his knee and into his hand, a small copper coin being placed quietly on his palm. The hand retreated to her own lap and she used her left hand to continue eating as he mouthed thanks.

"What is the penny jar?" Daryl asked, without hesitation Darcy had her arm extended out and pointing at the jar that was placed on the bottom shelf on a stand behind him. He placed the penny in it, noticing it was quite full of pennies. "What's the jar for?" he blurted without thinking.

"Silver is Grendel and Darcy. Pennies are all tha' adults. Darcy likes to play... Nobody else really likes it too much." Grendel's Mom laughed loudly before placing a bite of waffle in her mouth and chewing it up. There were two silver pieces he noted and turned back to his seat. "Darcy!" he heard Mom shout, he popped his head up and saw syrup all over the small girls clothes and hands.

"Oops." she giggled with a shy smile. "Sorry, mom." she didn't stand, she just sat there with her arms held out and a grin on her face. Grendel's Mom sighed loudly and stood up, walking over and pulling off Darcy's top shirt and picking the child up.

"What have I told you about that?" Mom grumbled, taking the small girl to the bathroom. He listened to the water run for a minute then there was the loud hiss from the shower head. Daryl watched the hallway with a smile. After a long while, they came back out. Darcy dressed in a pink dress now.

"Can we go skip rocks later?" she asked, looking up at Grendel's Mom with her hand clinging to her cousin.

"Possibly. Depends on what comes up." Grendel's Mom nodded and sat Darcy down.

"I could take her?" Daryl popped in without thinking about it.

"What about meeting up with the group?" Andrea interjected suddenly.

"It won't take long and it'd be fine." he defended, Grendel's Mom watching them both.

"No offense, but I don't think I could trust you with my Darcy." Grendel's Mom said with a small frown.

"None taken. Come with us then?" Daryl smiled sincerely and Mom's frown slightly turned toward a smile.

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><p>Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!<p> 


	4. Playing Fetch, Catch, and River Games

**Fighting Through**

**Edited October 5th 2012**

Rating:** T**

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Summary: Daryl is looking for Sophia with Andrea when they run across a woman named 'Grendel's Mom' who can be of help to the group, and be a bit more than Daryl bargained for.

Author's Note: I don't own Walking Dead.

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><p>Grendel's Mom caught Darcy's pleading gaze, it always made her weak knowing that the small child was filled with nothing but joy in her beating heart. The plead was simple, she wanted to go skip rocks with Dixie.<p>

"Oh please, oh please!" Darcy begged, clasping her hands together and holding them close to her chest. Grendel's Mom held her breath for a moment, she knew the inevitable was about to happen. Her weakness- Those adorable, undeniable doe eyes that made Grendel's Mom crumble to her core and then some.

"Uhh..." Grendel's Mom was caught, she knew she had important tasks that needed to be completed sooner rather than later... But, who could deny those eyes, those precious little brown eyes?

"Please!" she cried loudly, Daryl adding in, "Yeah, pleeease?" he walked over to her and knelt beside Darcy and giving his own pitiful eyes.

With a roll of her eyes and a loud huff, Grendel's Mom growled, "Fine. One hour. Get ready." Darcy's face lit up like a lightbulb, she beamed brighter than the sun. Darcy squealed and hopped from her chair, running away to her room. The three adults all heard the door close and drawers start to open and close.

"I'll just be watching." Mom noted aloud, "Andrea, what would you like to do?" she asked, eying the woman closely.

"I'll just..." she paused, biting at her bottom lip, thinking over what she could and would do, "Walk around, get some rest probably. I don't know yet."

"You're welco-" Andrea held up a hand and smiled to Grendel's Mom, not letting her finish.

"That's fine. It's fine." Grendel's Mom nodded twice, lightly tilting her head back and forth.

"Just know, you can, under no circumstance, leave the city. These walls are protected completely, the men who guard the city guard it with their lives and nobody can leave without approval." she eyed the blond woman up and down, "You can only leave with Daryl, I won't allow you to go out alone and have the guilty conscious of your death on my hands. Bad for the health." Andrea nodded in compliance. Mom figured the only reason Andrea was fine with it was that she probably didn't know the way back to their group.

"I'm ready!" Darcy sang, her arms thrown up in the air, she was in swamp boots and fishing waders. Grendel's Mom couldn't help but laugh at the small child, she was just too damned adorable to deny.

"I believe you!" Grendel's Mom said to the child with a smile, picking her up and kissing Darcy's cheek. "Ready to go, Dixie?" Daryl looked up at her and nodded, standing up completely and following close behind the two exiting ladies.

"Have fun, Andrea!" Daryl called and closed the door as she nodded and took a large chunk of bacon into her mouth and chomped down on the crispy pork meat.

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><p>"Throw this one!" Darcy shouted, digging up another piece of shale from the river and rushing to Daryl, putting it in his hands even if he already had multiple pieces of skipping rock in his possession. "And this one!" she cooed as she spotted another close by.<p>

Daryl stood motionless for a minute to stare at Grendel's Mom who was playing 'Fetch' with Grendel, Darcy noticed this and made it quite obvious she didn't like being ignored. "Skip them!" she demanded, seeming depressed that he hadn't thrown the rocks yet.

"Oh, yeah, of course!" he said, angling himself and taking a moment before skipping the large chunk of shale across the river.

_Splish, splish, chish, thump._

Darcy cheered in joy at the less than impressive toss, but it amazed the child all the same. "Do it again!" she shouted, plopping down on her butt in the river and trudging through the murk to find more shale rocks. A large black shale rock was plucked from the Earth and Darcy held it up, eying it closely and being sure to examine each bit of the rock before giving it over to Daryl.

"Don't over work him, Darcy." Grendel's Mom warned with a chuckle from her softly parted lips.

"I'm not!" she defended with a whine, her butt dripping wet with mud and river water. "It's fun!" she continued on, Daryl watched the two of them. Grendel's Mom looked over to the duo finally and her mouth dropped at the sight of Darcy.

"Darcy!" she cried out, "You're drippin' wet!" she walked toward Darcy and picked up the child. "Why did you do that?" she asked, looking the girl over and put her down. "Oh..." she sighed, putting her thumb and index finger to her temple. Daryl took a moment to assess the situation and decided to be cute about it.

"Man down!" he called as he 'fell' into the river, pushing Grendel's Mom down with him. "Mom down!" he called as she fell onto him and the river bottom.

"Oh, sweet Jesus!" she screamed at the sudden wave of chill against her skin, her clothes sticking to her person as she kicked her feet a few times, splashing water everywhere around them. Daryl heard Grendel bark and he pounced in on top of the two and Darcy joined them, laughing as she grabbed onto Grendel's furry neck and nuzzled the dog happily.

"All down!" Darcy laughed, her ribs had started to hurt from laughing too hard as Grendel's Mom was trying her best to stand upright and get out of the chilled waters, not that Daryl was helping as he'd trip her or pull her down each time she began to get up.

"Why would y-y-you do that?" Grendel's Mom shivered as she had finally managed to get herself away from his trip and pull reach, Daryl would admit- it _was_ cold, but not that cold.

"Hah, well, sorry." he smiled and helped her and Darcy up, Grendel pouncing on a fish and chased after it while the fish swam away from him in terror of being eaten. "You needed a good dip." Daryl joked causing her to sigh loudly, rolling up her clothes in strategic areas, making it drain of river water.

"It's cool-ld." her teeth chattered against each other and Daryl pulled her to him without thinking about it. Hoping that she'd be warmer with him holding her. Daryl was quickly about to release her until she wrapped her arms around him, allowing her teeth to continue their chattering.

"Sorry." he laughed, pulling Darcy to him as well, but she didn't agree, she wanted on his back instead.

"Giddy up!" she demanded once she was perched on his shoulders, Daryl looked up at her, Grendel's Mom put a hand on her leg and told her to be careful. To add into her fear, Daryl decided to jump, making the child scream in joy and giggle but Grendel's Mom threaten him to never do such a thing ever again.

Daryl hadn't noticed that Grendel had stopped chasing and became a hunter of true prey, he looked like a pointer with his tail straight and his nose forward with a paw lifted up just slightly. Grendel was prepared for the attack. "Grendel, calm." she demanded to the hound that obeyed his ma'ma without any hesitation. He looked to where the hound was facing to see and hear the moans and grumble of a Walker. Daryl instinctively reached for his weapons- all of which he'd decided not to bring.

"Take her!" Daryl demanded, gripping Darcy and pulling her from his shoulders and into Grendel's Mom. He picked up a large chunk of shale and went straight for the Walker. Grendel's Mom held Darcy close to her and moved her far away from the Walker, Grendel protectively ran to her side and growled at the Walker while Daryl took a few swings for it's head. Grendel started running back and forth between Daryl and the girls, growling loudly each time as Daryl quickly made the Walker fall. "Relatively easy." he spat as he hit the Walker once more with the large chunk of shale.

"You okay, kid?" he asked Darcy, putting a hand on her shoulder that wasn't covered in Walker blood once he got to her. She nodded, frightened by the Walker that she'd just seen. Thankfully, her head was still tightly tucked into the crook of Mom's neck so she didn't see any of the slaughter.

"I think it's time we go back." Grendel's Mom said flatly, heading away from the river with Grendel leading them and Daryl keeping close watch over the area until they entered into the wooded area.

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><p>"Those there Diseased are getting too close to our territory. We need some tighter borders and scouting, baby." she called to the tree and he heard a reply though it was too accented for Daryl to understand, but Mom's expression told him that the man he knew was up there had agreed with her and she was at peace.<p>

"Rick says to stay safe." he had heard be called from the man up in the tower, Daryl called back a thanks as the three of them and Grendel all headed into the refuge and straight for Mom's house. Andrea was sprawled out on the couch asleep, a throw blanket haphazardly thrown around her as she snored very lightly.

"Mornin' princess." Mom called loudly and Andrea stirred only a little. She looked at Daryl and winked before going to the blond woman and crouching near her head. "We're under attack!" she cried into Andrea's ear. That caused the blond to shoot up and stumble until she was on her feet. "Just kiddin', princess. I suppose you two will be wantin' to head back to your group?"

"Yeah, that might be good." Andrea yawned, "When can we leave this prison?"

"As soon as you like. Would you like _your_ clothes first though?" Mom giggled, walking away into the back of the house and he heard a door open and close. Darcy ran into her room with Grendel chasing after her. Daryl sat down on the loveseat and twiddled his thumbs for a very short moment until Mom came back with a basket full of their clothing. Andrea snagged up hers and ran to the bathroom, Daryl took his and Mom pointed him off to her room. "You can use my room to change." he nodded and walked off into the room to change into his own clothes. It was nice getting into his own clothing instead of being in someone else's things. It'd been an enjoyable night and day, even though the Walker had crudely reminded him he was still living a nightmare. 

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><p>Thank you very much for reading and hope you enjoyed this chapterchapter edit! Have an absolutely fantastic day!


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